


An Apple A Day

by whatisgoinonhere



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff and Angst, Hostage Situations, Humor, Romance, Sex, Slow Burn, Smut, Tension, War, self discovery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-24
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:54:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 15,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27697250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whatisgoinonhere/pseuds/whatisgoinonhere
Summary: Hermione Granger never thought she would find herself wanting everything she shouldn't. She never expected to be entirely consumed by so many shades of grey that her world was no longer what it once used to be. No longer good or evil, hate or love.To think it all started with an apple.My song for this whole ff: Line Without A Hook- Ricky Montgomery (It captures their relationship so well)Dramione, war-era, slowburn fanfic. Smut and fluff and angst and all that goodness included(Did u get my 50SOG reference;)
Relationships: Dean Thomas/Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy
Comments: 13
Kudos: 32





	1. Luck Of The Irish

**Author's Note:**

> Hi!! I am fairly new at this, and I wrote the first few chapters quite a while ago. I am not even sure if I want to write any more, so hopefully this reaches some people and I get some motivation :). (I have a plan for the whole story but I'm too lazy to write it rn). Also, I have been thinking about writing a lighter dramione that takes place during the school year. If people would rather want that then this, then please let me know! *constructive criticism is much appreciated and needed*

"GET YOUR ARSE OUT OF BED BEFORE I COME DRAG YOU OUT MYSELF HERMIONE JEAN GRANGER"

And just like that, Hermione's few moments of peaceful slumber have been halted by the ever-so-lovely Ginny Weasley. Not that she minds much anyway.

Hermione throws both of her legs over the small twin bed, gathering just enough energy to push herself to a standing position. She stretches, hearing a concerning amount of bones cracking throughout her body as if she were fostering a seventy year old witch within her.

_The lovely side effects of a nineteen year old girl fighting through a war._

Throwing on a jumper and slides, she trudges her way down the creaking stairs of Fordwich safe house. The disintegrating cottage on the edge of London referred to as Fordwich was a safe haven for Hermione and her small group of friends.

After the events that ocurred at Malfoy Manor, the Order decided it was best for Hermione to retire from the never-ending quest of Horcrux hunting. They decided to throw her into whatever safe house was nearest to see how she would fare. To Hermione, leaving Harry and Ron seemed like the small catalyst that would ignite countless amounts of problems for the Order, and for herself, but she essentially had no choice in the matter.

At first, to put it bluntly, Hermione would have rather died that day at Malfoy Manor than to have been constantly on missions with non-stop fighting and looting. After a while, she learned she had quite a knack for the healing arts, and was dubbed the "house healer", as Ginny likes to say. Nonetheless, she was still required on most missions, but her vast knowledge of pretty much everything (especially potions) salvaged her a few excursions.

"There she is!" says Dean Thomas too enthusiastically for it being the morning as she descends down the stairs. Dean was one of Hermione's classmates that had been sucked into this war, and coincidentally Fordwich as well, alongside her.

"Was it necessary to wake me from the two minutes of sleep I managed to get, Ginny?" It would have sounded like a rather demanding question, but her morning voice and hair didn't allow that.

"Most definitely, especially with Moody showing up in say, 20 minutes." The red headed witch snaps back as she mockingly pulls up her left sleeve and checks her vacant wrist.

"Oh." The only thing that meant was another mission debriefing, and _Merlin knows she could not handle another one of those_.

"At least we saved you some tea, I reckon it's gone cold by now though" blurts Seamus Finnigan from his seat at the small, wooden dinner table with his thick Irish accent.

"Thanks Seamus. Ginny." Hermione turns to face her red headed friend as she strides towards the kitchen cupboards.

"Yeah?"

"Do you know why Moody is coming in the afternoon? He always comes in the evenings for mission debriefing." She asks as she pours the cold tea in a mug.

"Not completely sure, but his patronus said it was urgent." Ginny finishes explaining.

"I reckon its just a message from headquarters, nothing to be worried about I hope." Dean adds in, with a look on his face that says otherwise.

She didn't think much of it, but her brain was already calculating dozens of scenarios to compensate for Moody's schedule, or lack thereof. _Maybe someone died? Harry? Ron? No, they could_ -

"Hermione, it's probably nothing terrible." Her face must have shown signs of worrying, because Seamus is usually not the comforting type.

"Everything is these days, in war I mean. When is something not terrible around here lately." Hermione says, straying from the staple Gryffindor optimism.

"Merlin Hermione, no need to be so morbid." Ginny says in an almost sarcastic tone as she sits down at the table alongside Seamus.

Hermione opens her mouth to apologize, but is halted by the faint sound of a pop that can only be caused by Apparation.

"Guess Moody is early."

"No shite Dean."

"Well it could be someone else!"

"Whatever Finni-"

"Would you two quit it? I already have a headache and your incessant bickering is not helping." Ginny always had a talent for shutting people up.

The door opens frantically as Moody steps in, hobbling on his one good foot.

"We have a hostage. Death Eater." Moody says. Per usual, straight to the point. No need for the pleasantries.

 _Wait- What? A hostage? Since when has the Order taken hostages?? Let alone a Death Eater?_ Hermione's subconscious already corrupting her beloved organization the second the sentence left Moody's lips.

"Well good morning to you too Moody." Ginny says while she lightly raises her mug and smirks, earning a chuckle from Dean.

"Hostages? Why on earth would we take a hostage?" Hermione asks, too bothered by this piece of information to try to be polite.

"He was too easy not to grab, and we have it on good word that he has intel that could cost You-Know-Who this war." Moody spits at the four teenagers.

"And why was it so urgent that you tell us?" Dean asks, and Hermione wonders the same exact thing, although she already has a hunch.

"All the other safe houses are packed, and you lot are the only people who have a chance of knowing him. He stays here until further notice."

"Us? Why would we have anything to do with a Death Eater? Who is 'him' anyways?" Ginny asks while making air quotes. The tint of aggression in her voice was evident.

"Malfoy, Draco Malfoy. He was in the same year as Granger, Finnigan and Thomas at Hogwarts. You may ha-"

"Yes, I know who Malfoy is, Moody." Ginny says, clearly irate.

_Oh no, oh no no no no no n-_

"Perfect. And watch your mouth Weasley, this is the most reliable safe house to put him in." Moody says in a tone that indicates that the conversation is over. He starts again after a few seconds of thick silence "I'll be back later tonight with the boy and I will debrief how and what will need to happen in this house."

As soon as he finishes talking, Moody apparates away, leaving the four witches and wizards staring blankly at each other.

 _What. The. Fuck_. Out of all the things that could happen in this Godric forsaken war, the second worst person she could have thought of is now her fucking housemate. _Perfect._

"Uh Hermione?" Dean asks in a silent whimper as Hermione prepares herself for his inevitable question. "Didn't his aunt t-"

Hermione begs her throat to open. "Yes, she did. I would rather not bring it up Dean. Fortunately, he does not have the face of Bellatrix. Unfortunately, he is still a Malfoy." She can feel the tears prickling the inner corner of her eyes, fighting to get out.

"Will you be okay? With him being here and all?" Ginny asks in the most gentle way possible.

"Hopefully. I don't exactly have a choice. Plus, he's a hostage, not a new housemate. I can manage." _Hopefully._

"Okay, but Hermione, if he ever tries to even look in your direction, we are right here. Alright?"

"That's very kind Dean, but I think I can handle my own." The brunette says with a small, playful smile.

"Well that's that. I will be getting absolutely pissed in preparations for tonight, if anyone cares to join. Firewhiskey on the house." Seamus says, leaving the rest of the Gryffindors laughing in their shared kitchen.

"Right behind you Seamus!" Dean shouts at his friend as they both exit through the front door.

Ginny throws Hermione a content look before breaking the silence. "It won't be too bad Hermione, you have us. Plus, he will probably be out of here in a few days time- I'm going upstairs, to wash up. Will you be alright?"

"I'll be perfectly fine Ginny, thank you. I'll finally be able finish my breakfast in peace."

Ginny chuckles as she walks towards the stairs. "See you in the evening when Moody gets here."

"See you." Hermione picks up her stale muffin and cold tea and realizes that she had happened to lose her appetite quite a while ago. She walks back to her room and throws herself on the bed. She allows herself some time to read, forgetting just how tired she really was. She dozes off before she even knows it, book open and laying out on her legs.


	2. New, Unfortunate Beginnings

Jolted awake by voices outside, Hermione sits up in her bed and notices that it's now dark outside.

 _Fuck._ This is a situation worth swearing.

She peeks outside her window, and in the darkness, sees none other than Moody holding a man by his forea- _Malfoy_? It can't be.

His appearance is tantalizingly different. He undoubtedly grew, filling out into his broad frame and widening his shoulders, he looks thin-scarily thin-. Lean muscles coat his upper body despite his fragileness, and he has grown at least five inches. His face was sunken. Purple and blue danced around his eyes as if he hadn't slept in the past year.

Even in the darkness, Hermione saw that he too had been changed by the ruthless reality that was their war. _Theirs._

Moody started dragging Malfoy by his arms as he resisted by trying his best to stay planted to the grass outside. Moody muttered something to him and the boy immediately loosened and started strutting towards the door. Even as a hostage, Malfoy could not lose his arrogance. Unbelievable.

Hermione quickly threw on the jumper she was wearing earlier, and headed downstairs where her friends were already waiting for her.

"Hermione hurry, Moody has arrived." Is all Ginny says as she grabs Hermione's arm and pulls her towards the kitchen.

Not much after, Moody and Malfoy open the door and step in. Moody's left hand still gripping Malfoy's arm, but this time so tight his knuckles whiten. They take a few steps into the house, only to halt right in front of her and her friends.

Draco Malfoy really had changed. His face aged at least ten years, although it had roughly been one and a half since she last saw him. He was undeniably handsome, _but when had he not been._ Regardless his looks, Hermione taught herself to grow numb to her attraction to him over the years; his personality and prejudice discredited any redeeming qualities he had.

Although, one thing she could never deny herself were his eyes. Godric knows if she had ever seen eyes quite like his. The perfect blend of grey- no, silver, and sky blue. Staring into his eyes felt like staring into the eyes of a terrifyingly entrancing abyss. And this is coming from someone who hates him, _truly hates him_.

"There are currently two spare rooms in this house, now there's one. Obviously his room will be heavily warded and he will have no wand, but we still need to take precautions. No telling how cheeky this boy is." Moody puts it bluntly as he throws a glance at Malfoy. The boy returns the perfect, devilish smirk; might as well call it the Malfoy smirk at this point.

__________________________

Draco Malfoy stays silent, staring straight ahead and avoiding eye contact with his former schoolmates.

And just for a second, he directs his eyes towards the group he will have to endure for Salazar knows how long.

 _How fucking perfect. Hermione Fucking Granger. Oh! And the Weaslette, even fucking better_. _Another ginger to make me want to murder myself._ He thinks before he can notice Granger staring back at him, surely ready to pounce and gut him any second. She's barely recognizable. The frizzy hair is still there, _fucking obviously_ , but she's grown taller, has quite obviously put on some muscle, and she looks as if the life was pumped out of her.

 _Her eyes are_ _alright_. He thought before shaking any thought about the girl's appearance out of his head.

Moody starts dragging him up to his new room. He doesn't bother to speak, or make eye contact, or smirk or- practically anything that will make it seem like he wouldn't rather die on the spot than be there. Because he would.

He gets tossed into a room the size of a cupboard with a singular twin bed and a dresser.

_Fucking wonderful._

_____________________________

Moody locked the room with a weak Colloportus spell and hobbled back downstairs.

"Hurry and get your arses to the table, we have a lot to debrief."

"What exactly are we supposed to do with the blonde twat living in our home now?" Dean asks, making Hermione bite her bottom lip in hopes of stopping her chuckle.

"Thomas, shut your mouth and let me explain." Moody starts. "Locking spells will do shite for Malfoy, he could practically escape in his sleep. However, I will be warding the room heavily. Although my wards are foolproof, someone needs to be watching him around the clock. The window in the room will immediately alert everyone in the house and trigger the anti-apparation wards if opened. I can't put the same ones on the door for obvious reasons, so someone will need to watch him. I suggest you do day and night watches. In two weeks time, once I get a hold of Veritaserum, I will be back to interrogate him. For that I will need Granger and Thomas' help. Alright, figure the schedule out on your own, and don't try to argue with me about this."

The room went silent for a full minute until Finnigan sliced through it with a very Finnigan-like remark.

"If you think I'm going to watch the twat wank and sleep every night, you are very, very wrong."

"I don't care who watches him in the night and who watches him in the day, as long as someone does. Figure it out." Moody says, halting any further questions. Everyone seemed a tad bit in shock.

Hermione sure was. _24/7? Around the clock? What is he, a child? No, never mind, he's a Death Eater. Much worse._

"Granted the boy is a Death Eater, but do we really have to treat him like a swotting baby? I mea-"

"Yes Weasley, you do. That boy is a very talented wizard and could probably outduel each and every one of you." Moody says and turns to look at Hermione. "Including you Granger."

 _He could not, but that is not something to start an argument on right now_.

"Make a schedule and follow it. We will be interrogating him in two weeks time. If his answers are sufficient, we will take some measures and he will be able to join us on missions soon."

"WHAT?" said everyone in the room at the same exact time.

"There is no reality that one of You-Know-Who's top Death Eaters is taken hostage and has not killed every single one of us by now. He is more than capable of doing much worse, and I need to find out what he's up to. I suspect foul play. As I said, I'll be back." _Pop_. And Moody's gone.

Hermione's mind was already buzzing with plans and schedules to have to avoid contact with Malfoy as much as possible. There was no getting out of this anyway.

"Who's up for night watch because it sure as hell is not me."

The four Gryffindors took the rest of the night sitting at their small wooden table and crafting a schedule for their "shifts". Dean had the mornings and breakfast, Seamus had the afternoons and lunch, Ginny had the evening and dinner, and Hermione had the rest of the night. They agreed to let her have the latest shift in hopes that he would be asleep by then, and wouldn't have to talk or try to feed him.

She didn't sleep much anyways so it wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

When it was nearly dawn, Hermione finally climbed up the stairs to make it to her bedroom. Very, very, _VERY,_ unfortunately, Moody had chosen to give Malfoy the bedroom to the left of hers.

Knowing Moody, he had probably not allowed Malfoy out of the room at any circumstance, including going to the bathroom. As much as she detested the thought of speaking to him, she had to have some human decency, no matter how little _he_ had. Before entering his room, she lightly tapped twice on his door, and opened it just enough to see his lean figure sitting at the edge of the bed. His back was to her and his feet were planted on the ground, using his elbows on his knees as support. She opened it just enough to peek her head in, and tell him where the bathrooms were.

"Malfoy."

He didn't move a muscle.

"The bathroom is at the end of the hallway, last door to your right. And don't even think about going anywhere else because the wards alert every person in this house the second you step foot outside."

He still didn't move. Well that's that. She closes his door and moves to the right to go to her room.

_Wait. No. I have to babysit the genocidal twat tonight. Bloody brilliant._

She shuffles back to the left and sits outside of his door. At this point, that's all she can do. She sits and sits until she accidentally dozes off.

_______________________________

She wakes up to Dean nudging her shoulder with his foot.

"Morning Hermione, sleep well?" He asks with a tray full of breakfast foods in hand.

"Oh bugger! I'm sorry Dean I didn't mean to fall asleep. He's not escaped though so that's good." She says with a light smile and her morning voice, hoping that he Malfoy really hadn't escaped.

"I suppose so yeah. If you'll excuse me, I have some breakfast to deliver." Dean says with a kind expression as he scoots towards Hermione.

"Right, yeah, sorry." She stands up and steps out of the way enough so Dean can open the door.

The door opens and she peeks in. Her eyes are met almost instantly with silver. She forgets she's looking into the eyes of her childhood tormenter as they stare at each other. The former Slytherin's eyes flash with some emotion she can't quite decipher, and he blinks and looks up to the boy with his breakfast.

She stops embarrassing herself any further and leaves to go back into her room. Her bed welcomes her, and she sits down with her current book in an attempt to distract herself from everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> criticism and feedback much appreciated :) ill say this a lot pls don't get annoyed


	3. Necessities, Necessities

The day passed rather quickly. Hermione finished the book she was reading and went downstairs to talk with her friends. She saw Seamus and Dean dueling outside and went and sat down on the porch to watch.

They dueled until it was dark. Until Hermione had to go watch _Draco Malfoy_.

She trudged up the stairs and tapped Ginny's shoulder to let her know she was good to go to sleep.

"I tried to give him his dinner, but he won't eat. The breakfast and lunch trays are sitting in there as well. I left the dinner in his room just in case." Ginny says with an obviously tired aura to her.

Huh, weird. "That's alright Ginny, he's probably being dramatic, or is possibly still in shock he isn't living in a palace anymore. Regardless, not quite our problem."

"I guess you're right. Goodnight Hermione, sorry you can't exactly sleep."

"It's really no problem, I don't sleep much anyways. Goodnight Ginny."

The female Weasley made her way down the hallway and into her room after giving a small, apologetic smile.

Hermione sat down on the floor and waited there.

After Merlin knows how long, Hermione hears an extremely loud scraping noise in the room she's supposed to be watching.

She panics, stands up, and bursts into the room. She sees Malfoy in the same clothes he was wearing when Moody brought him. Black trousers and a plain black t-shirt. He is slightly bent over at the waist, grabbing the bottom of the frame of his twin bed with both of his hands. The rear end of the bed is completely off the ground.

"What on earth are you doing?" Hermione asks, startled.

He tilts his head to stare at her, but he doesn't reply.

"I asked you a question."

"I'm moving my bed over to the window." _So he speaks._

His voice sounded deeper, but there was still that entitled and confident tone that she could always recognize.

"To what, jump out of the window? You'll at minimum break both of your ankles."

"I'm not trying to jump out of the bloody window, Granger. It's hot as fuck in this sad excuse for a house and I need some air." He spits at her as he finishes dragging the bed up to the window.

"Oh." _What an arsehole! Nothing's changed._

Hermione didn't say anything. The audacity on the boy was enough to shock her beyond speaking. She stepped out of the room and closed the door.

 _How on earth could someone irritate her so easily?_ Not only had the boy tormented her younger self, he always knew exactly the right words to piss her off.

She was back in the room all of ten seconds later with newfound anger and some Gryffindor bravery.

"You know what, _no_. I will not stand here and let myself be intimidated by you! You are in MY house" She points to herself, although he is not facing her, "and I could not give two shites of who you are, you will respect me!" She said as she pointed at the body turned around to face the window. "And if you keep refusing to eat, we will stop bringing you meals altogether. You're a waste of resources."

She turned around, walked out, and slammed the door before he could answer. She had had enough of Draco Malfoy for an eternity, it didn't matter if she was being overdramatic.

Hermione sat back down on the floor, and crossed her legs in a criss-cross manner. She stayed there until she saw the sky being illuminated by the early morning sun.

She stood up from the floor for ( _hopefully_ ) the last time of the day, and tugged Malfoy's door slightly open. She tip-toed in as lightly as she could, and made her way over to the wooden dresser.

She stopped for a second to look over at the bed that was now propped by the window. Draco Malfoy sleeps on his back with his arms to his side, like a corpse. _Creepy as hell_. His eyelids were slightly twitching at what she assumed to be the sun slowly coming up.

She kept going on her path to the dresser, and once arrived, started picking up the trays of Draco's untouched food.

Hermione left an apple for him. He had to eat eventually.

With the pile of trays in both of her hands, she made her way back across the room and exited. She closed the door behind her and headed to the kitchen. She noticed Dean and Ginny were sitting and having some breakfast when she finally made it down. The two were looking pleasantly disheveled.

"Are you two alright?" Hermione asked before they could greet her.

The pair straightened in their chairs immediately and snapped their heads towards Hermione.

"Yeah, perfectly fine Hermione." Ginny answered as the corners of her mouth twitched upward. She was blushing. Why was she bl-

 _Oh_.

"Ew!" Hermione said as her face contorted into sheer disgust before she could stop herself.

The pair looked at each other with embarrassment and guilt in their eyes, and then Ginny started laughing.

"What Hermione, never had shagged anyone before? Merlin knows you need it. _Merlin knows I did_." Ginny said with a light laugh and a raise of her eyebrows. Dean joined in with her too.

"Ginny Weasley!" The brunette gasped and threw a plastic spoon at her red headed friend. Hermione knew she and Harry had broken up quite a while ago, but it still felt odd to have Ginny openly talk about topics like these. She couldn't help herself though, she started laughing too.

She really did need it though. Not necessarily _sex_ , but some form of release. Not once since the war had gone into full swing had Hermione done something that took her mind off of the impending doom that was her life. Ever since her argument with Ron about leaving her to go Horcrux hunting, she accepted she no longer had any chances for romance. She was a bit envious of the two, they seemed quite smitten.

After a few awkward moments, Dean decided to ask Hermione a question, "So, Hermione, how was the night watch? I heard some noises last night when I couldn't sleep, everything straight?"

"Yeah everything's alright. Malfoy decided he wanted to feng shui his room and was dragging his bed across the floor."

"What's _feng shui_?" Ginny broke in.

"Never mind. He said he wanted some fresh air and was being a complete twat so I.. sort of.. _Yelled at him_.." Hermione finished while she dragged out her last words quietly.

There was silence for a few seconds.

"Good!" Dean says with a happy face and a clap of his hands. "The wanker hasn't spoken to any of us yet, and I'm glad the first time he did was so you could shout at him. You are bloody brilliant Hermione Granger!" He finished with a smile so big it looked like it hurt.

Ginny and Hermione both looked at each other and smiled.

____________________________

The next few days at Fordwich for Hermione were a combination of small naps throughout the day and sitting on the floor at night. She had gotten used to the schedule after a week or so. She had also found out that Malfoy finally caved in and ate the apple she gave him, but didn't touch the rest of his food.

Hermione left him an apple every night since then. Not out of kindness, but out of necessity. It was bad enough that he refused to eat any actual meals, but she would not have someone dying in her house.

On one cold night of the week, Hermione, Seamus, and Dean were having dinner next to the fireplace while Ginny was on her 'shift'. The three were eating a stale can of beans solely for the nutrients. They were hoping that the next food shipment from headquarters would come soon. As Seamus dipped his spoon into the beans, a luminescent blue weasel slid through the air and frantically made its way up the stairs. The three of them looked at it as it ascended, and stared back at each other when it was gone.

"That's Arthur Weasley's patronus, right?" Seamus asks Hermione, assuming only she would know.

"Yes."

"Correct."

Hermione and Dean answer at the same time. She looks at Dean as his face turns a light shade of pink, and she smiles. She turns back to Seamus, trying to hide her glee at the notion that Dean is worried for Ginny.

"Wonder what he wants." Dean finally said, looking slightly ajar.

"Probably nothing." Seamus says as Hermione takes the tin can out of his hands and brings it towards the kitchen.

She leaves the two boys in the living room as she balances their dinner bowls in her two hands. She makes her way to the sink, and starts quickly rinsing their silverware.

Ginny runs down the steps as she yells "DEAN, SEAMUS, GET YOUR ARSES IN THE KITCHEN!"

Hermione drops the spoon she was holding and turns to face her friend. She doesn't look gravely miserable or angry, so the news must be tolerable. The boys run into the kitchen with a sprint, Dean a little bit faster than Seamus.

"What happened?" the three ask at the same time.

"Nothing bad, not to worry." She says with a wave of her hand to calm her friends worried faces. "My dad got injured and wants to see me. I'll be apparating to the Burrow tomorrow afternoon. I reckon I'll be gone for three to four days"

The healer side of Hermione taking over as she asks "Arthur? What happened to him? Will he be alright? What injury is it?"

"Hermione, slow down. Something happened to his leg, I'm not entirely sure. When I get back you will be the first to know, I ensure you."

"Okay, be safe." Hermione says.

"I know. Also, I'll need someone to cover my watches. It's probably only three nights, so each of you could do one." Ginny adds in.

"Are you sure you'll be alright apparating and all? Do you need me to come with?" Dean asks Ginny.

Hermione smiles. And so does Ginny.

"I'll be quite fine Dean, thank you though."

"Okay, be careful."

"Yeah, don't die Ginny."

"Seamus! She's only going to her family's home for a few days, don't be so morbid!"

Seamus laughs.


	4. Oh, To Be So Predictable

  
  
The day that Ginny left passed quickly, and it was Dean's turn to be on 'dinner' watch for Malfoy. Hermione would be next.

Seamus and Hermione ate dinner in silence. The two were friends, but it was the kind of friendship that only made sense when there were others around. The silence was nice though, it had been a while since she had had another's presence simply next to her and been comfortable.

Dean came down at around midnight and Hermione took it as a cue to head up for her night watch. _Back to sitting on the floor she goes._

Hermione sits on the cold floor of Fordwich for hours. She waits until what she assumes to be 3 A.M, and heads into Malfoy's room.

He seems to be asleep, so she quietly makes her way to his dresser to transfigure an apple. She pulls out her wand and does so, making sure the apple is green.

She learned he only eats the green ones. _How fitting_.

"Why now? You could just give it to me at the beginning of the day."

Hermione jumps at the suddenness of his voice and drops the apple she was holding. She says nothing.

"I asked you a question."

_How bloody infuriating._

"This is the only time I can. I'm busy the rest of the day." She says as she bends over to pick the apple back up.

"That's a lie."

"Excuse me?"

"I said, that's a lie."

"Does it really matter? You need to eat, and this is the only thing you will. It doesn't matter when you get it."

He didn't answer. She turned around to exit the room. Her hand was on the handle, halfway twisting it before he spoke.

"Why do _you_ transfigure it? I'd rather have Finnigan or Thomas do it. Not the Weaslette though."

_Of course he would have to make this about blood purity. It's an apple for Merlin's sake! How far up his arse does his head need to be to understand that he is in no position to make commands._

"I will take into consideration that you don't want a mudblood touching your one piece of food per day, Malfoy." She said in her snarkiest tone possible, accentuating the word that the blonde used to call her in their younger years. It no longer had an effect on her anymore, she wanted him to see that. "Now if you'll excuse me, I will spend the rest of my obligated time babysitting you, outside of this room". She finishes, turning the door handle and stepping out, making sure to slam the door once she completely exits.

Hermione gets ready to sit back down. Her knees make it to a halfway bending position before she hears his voice.

"I never said that you know!" Her knees straighten. "Your apples just taste like shit! Especially the red ones!" He yells from inside the room. His voice was raised enough to be heard outside the door, but not the rest of the house.

Hermione would have yelled back, but she would surely wake her friends.

She stepped back into his room.

"Malfoy, could you please just leave me alone? It's enough that you're here." She says while she points an accusing finger at him.

He turns around on the bed and starts moving to a seated position. "That I'm here?" He points a finger at his chest as he stands up and starts stalking towards her. "You think I want to fucking be here Granger?"

Hermione notices he isn't wearing a shirt.

_I've got to give it to him, war did him w- NO! NOT important._

She forgets that it's technically her turn to speak.

"No I don't." She puts on her best smug expression. "You're the one who spoke to me." Hermione crosses her arms.

"I was asking you a bloody question and your stubborn arse didn't have the decency to answer me."

"And YOUR entitled arse isn't used to not getting what he wants!" Her finger is back and pointing at him and pursing out every time she accentuates a word.

He steps closer to her. She could almost feel his breath on her face.

Hermione looks up and stares straight into the moonlit eyes of Draco Malfoy in the midst of both of their fury. She flashes them away, too caught up in his gaze to continue arguing. Her eyes trail down to his right forearm that boasts the Dark Mark.

_________________________________

 _So_ _fucking predictable._

Draco couldn't stop himself from raising his eyebrows and letting out a breathy scoff.

"What's so funny?" She says as her eyebrows draw together, making an attempted angry face.

 _So many things_.

"Nothing Granger." He says as he turns back around.

He feels a small, warm hand on his wrist stopping him from getting back to his bed.

"I said, what's so funny?" She tightens the hold on his wrist.

He uses his free hand to grab her wrist and tear it off of his. He throws her hand away as quickly as he possibly can. "I said, nothing." He finishes turning around, his back facing her. "And don't fucking touch me." He steps into his bed.

"You don't make it easy you know? Refusing to eat anything more than an apple a day. At least I fucking feed you Malfoy."

The door slams, and the sky seems to turn a shade lighter outside.

_One more day in this house and I will blow my fucking brains out._

___________________________________

The sun goes up, and Dean steps out of his room. The second Hermione sees him, she slips back into her room without a word and falls on her bed ready to sleep away whatever just happened.

She does just that.

When her eyes open, it's dark. She makes her way out of her room, and stops right outside the door. She sees Finnigan sitting on the floor just as she does when she has to watch him.

"How's 'dinner' watch?" She asks him as she puts up air quotes around her face.

"Pretty shite. The bloke won't eat anythin'. Pretty sure he's gonna die before he's even useful, What a shame." Seamus says with a small smile and a shake of his head.

Hermione laughs and says with a wink "Not too much of a shame". She earns a laugh from Seamus before she continues. "Is Dean downstairs?"

"Yeah, pretty sure I heard Ginny too."

"Oh! Wonderful!" She says as she practically sprints towards the stairs. Thank Godric for that. If Ginny was back, she wouldn't have to attempt to feed Draco Malfoy tonight.

 _It's_ _the little things._

Hermione would be nowhere without Ginny Weasley. The second that she entered Fordwich, the red head would refuse to leave her side until she was comfortable. Sure, she, Harry, and Ron were best friends, but after it being almost a year since she last saw him, the female Weasley was starting to take precedence in Hermione's heart. Albeit she had space for all the Weasleys. Plus, Ginny Weasley always knew how to make someone laugh.

"Ginny!" She couldn't stop herself from saying as she flung herself into her friend's arms.

"Blimey Hermione, it was only two days! I'm even back a day early." Ginny said as she threw her arms around Hermione's neck, completing the hug.

Dean was already downstairs talking to her newly arrived friend, just as Hermione had expected. It was blatantly obvious that Dean had started to grow quite fond of Ginny, which was good. After crying for at least a month straight and growling at anyone who even mentioned the name 'Harry', Ginny had finally accepted that they were better off as friends. Hermione was glad that Ginny was finally getting the appreciation she deserved.

"How was it?" Hermione asks.

"It was okay, not much to worry about." Ginny started. "Father had a gash on his leg that was supposedly from a Goblin wrought blade. Something was off about it though, it had some form of dark magic." She finished, looking at her brunette friend as her eyebrows drew up in confusion.

"That's fascinating!" she says as Ginny gave her a curious look. "Obviously not what happened to Arthur," she extends a flattened hand to clarify, "but Goblin blades are truly something worth looking into. Do you perhaps know what kind of magic it was infused with?" She turned to look at Ginny.

"I was just waiting for you to ask, Fred said you would not stop bothering me if I didn't bring this back with me," Ginny says as she turns and makes an 'I told you so' face to Dean. He smiles back at her. Ginny proceeds to pull out a folded parchment from her back pocket and hands it to Hermione.

Hermione opens it and is met with a detailed description of the exact kind of poison that was in the blade, and a list of its effects, although she knew them as soon as she read the name.

"It's a hybrid potion," Hermione started explaining to her friends. "The main component is Yew, the tree that some wands stem from. To be honest, the only wand owners with a Yew core that I know of is You-Know-Who and-"

"Me." Ginny finishes for her with a disappointed look on her face.

"Yes, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything," She continues. "The Yew tree itself is highly poisonous, but only most potent when mixed with the right ingredients. If I'm correct, Arthur should still have a pretty ghastly scar."

Ginny nods her confirmation.

"I could make him a potion to almost completely erase the scar, I just need a few shavings of Yew bark and a few other ingredients. Unfortunately, Yew can only be found in the Forbidden Forest."

"It's alright Hermione, really. A scar is no big deal."

"Actually, I'm rather curious as to what combinations of ingredients could heal a Goblin wrought Yew incision. I'll have to research, but I would love to test my theory on Arthur. It's really no problem for me to apparate to the forest; I would be in and out in under a half hour."

"I'll think about it, but you are certainly not going on your own. Whoever is here the night you are free can accompany you." Ginny says. "Plus, I don't go back to the Burrow for another three weeks or so to check up on him, so you have time."

"Alright", Hermione says, ending their conversation.

___________________

The next few days of the week were slow, each one being just as painstakingly identical to the next. Their shifts over Malfoy's door had returned back to normal, allowing Hermione to avoid Draco for most nights. Knowing that Malfoy would be staying in the same house as her for the unforeseeable future did not sit right with Hermione Granger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is the farthest I've gotten. I have a few more chapters sitting in my docs that need to be proof read and completed. if this gets at least one or two comments and a good amount of hits, I'll finish them. hope everyone has a great thanksgiving if you celebrate! if not, have an amazing day! (PLS COMMENT!!) It helps motivate me sm


	5. Too Many Reasons Not To Live

The cottage started to illuminate from the rising sun, leaving it in that morning sun bask that rendered Hermione into a peaceful trance. One that reminded her how little sleep she had been getting recently. Not like she could fall asleep when given the chance anyways.

There she was, sitting on the hardwood floor waiting for Seamus to come out and take her place, staring at the gloomy and fuzzy hallway, forgetting just how she had gotten herself into this mess. And by  _ this mess _ , she means: her life, her magic, the war, Hogwarts,  _ Draco Malfoy _ \- pretty much everything. Who knew being a muggle would one day sound so exciting? ( _She would, she was one_ )

_ Pop! _

Apparation? Moody?  _ Merlin, had it already been two weeks? _

It seemed like the rest of her friends heard it too, because Seamus stepped out of his room a second before Ginny stepped out of hers- with Dean following right behind her. Seamus stared at the ‘couple that wasn’t really a couple’, and then back at Hermione. His eyes were blown wide open in shock. 

“You haven’t noticed by now? Don’t be so daft Seamus.” Hermione says to the Irish boy in as she tries to hold back a laugh, although she wasn’t really joking.

The four friends trailed downstairs consecutively, not really worrying about leaving Malfoy’s door unattended, since Moody would be collecting him to come down any second. 

And just as expected, Moody was standing there in his usual menacing demeanor. He had a satchel hanging down off his left shoulder; Hermione didn’t have to guess what was in there.

“Finnigan and Weasley, Remus has some plans he needs to debrief with the two of you. Apparate to Grimmauld Place as soon as you can.” He turns to the other two teenagers in the room. “Thomas, Granger, follow me.”

Ginny stops him before he can set foot on the stairs. “We don’t get to see the fun part?” She asks in a whining voice. 

“No you don’t. Stop wasting my time.” Moody disappears up the stairs. Hermione and Dean follow suit.

______________________________

As they reach Malfoy’s door, Moody turns around to the pair and starts speaking, “Now, I have six drops of Veritaserum. That’s strong enough for.. say.. six or seven questions.” He pulls out a parchment from the bag. “These are the ones Remus and I could think of without saying You-Know-Who’s name. We can have absolutely no chances of us saying it, the taboo would reveal our location almost instantly, regardless of the wards.”

Hermione takes the parchment from Moody's hand.

Scribbled messily, six questions appeared on the parchment:

  1. Are you aware of any upcoming attacks or raids that the Death Eaters plan to pursue?



_ An obvious question. _

  1. What is your plan regarding your hostage situation?



Hermione spoke immediately after reading the second question, “Malfoy could easily avoid answering this one completely,” she says as she points to the said line. “It needs to be worded differently, or asked in multiple different questions, with different intents.”

“What do you suggest Granger?” 

“First, if you are dodgy as to why he’s here in the first place, then I would ask him if he intended to get caught. If his answer happens to be yes, you go from there. Now, I’m guessing it will be a yes, and his answer as to why will develop new questions.” She continues as she hands back the paper to Moody, not needing to read the rest of the questions to finish what she has to say. “If you truly believe that we could utilize him for something other than information, then I suggest you find out his motives and beliefs as well. Everything will go much smoother if you ask him simple yes or no questions, with the exception of small explanations.”

“Granger,” Moody starts, looking irritated. “I have thought about what you just said dozens of times over in my head. If the answers aren’t sufficient enough for the questions I have already prepared, we will try your way. And both of you, don’t even think about asking him a question before I approve. Getting Veritaserum is bloody difficult nowadays.” He walks into Malfoy’s room without even glancing back. Hermione and Dean follow, per usual.

________________________________

Draco was sitting on his bed, back propped up against the wall, looking out the window, when the  _ multiple  _ banes of his existence walked in.

“Malfoy, up.” Says Moody with a hand gesture signaling upwards.

Draco doesn’t move. He turns his head slowly to face the trio.

“Don’t make this harder for yourself.” Moody speaks again.

Draco continues to be still while staring at the group. He shifts his eyes to make contact with Hermione and Dean for a split second each, before turning back to face Moody. 

He smirks.

And right there and then, Moody binds his hand behind his back with an Incarcerous spell. The ropes so tight Draco could feel them slicing through the skin of his wrist.

_ That ugly fucking creature. I will mu- _

“Bloody waste of my time,” Moody says as he hobbles over to Draco squirming as he is sitting down. He grabs the blonde by the shoulder and makes him sit on the edge of the bed. “Make this easier for us and you will be less miserable.” Moody says as he stares at Draco. “Open your mouth,” He grabs the bottle out of his bag and waits until Draco follows instructions. Surprisingly, he does.

Moody puts a single drop of the truth serum on his tongue and closes the bottle. 

“Do you know of any upcoming attacks or raids that the Death Eaters plan to pursue?” Moody asks with a punctual tone.

“Yes.” He answers, not giving away anymore than he's coerced to.

Moody looks back at the two young adults standing near the door, he adds another drop of the truth serum into his mouth. “Where and when?” he asks.

“Grimmauld Place” he starts, finally looking up. His eyes meet Hermione’s, “and I don’t know when”, he flicks his eyes back down.

“Thomas or Granger, send your patronus once we are done here informing whoever is at Grimmauld.” Moody says quietly as he pulls out the bottle of Veritaserum again. 

“Bollocks” Moody says as he stares into the vial he has in his hand, eyeing it from every angle as he shakes it around in his hand. “Darn potion makers back at headquarters don’t know how to count.” He turns to face Hermione and Dean. “Only two more questions and then we are out.”

Hermione and Dean nod in agreement.

Moody unscrews the cap, and drops another drop into the complying boy’s mouth. “Did you intend to get held hostage?” He asks right away.

“Yes.”

Hermione and Dean turn to look at each other, both equally surprised. They turn to look at Moody right after, who seems to have known this already, or at least expected it. They all turn back to face Malfoy.

Before she can stop herself, Hermione blurts “Why?”

She slaps her hand over her mouth after realizing she had wasted a question. She makes eye contact with Moody, who looks positively ready to mur-

“I chose the wrong side.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> VERY short chapter today (6 will compensate I swear). I've decided to keep writing, thank you to every one who left kudos and who commented! I'll probably be writing some one-shots at the same time that I write this story, so look out for those. Again, critique is much appreciated:) Ch. 6 will be posted on Nov 27.


	6. Unbreakable Breakability

Draco looks up to find himself met with a disgusting amount of pity. His mouth is glued closed after being forced into confessing what he shouldn’t have. His face is equivalent to a raging fire, bottling the anger originating from the sight in front of him; because one thing that Draco Malfoy does not like, is pity. He  _ hates _ it.

He kills every amount of pride he has to confirm that he is in fact, not on their side. __

He breaks the silence as he rolls his eyes. Granger and Thomas flinch when he begins- _ idiots. _ “The fuck did you want me to say?” He speaks with the most smart-ass tone he could conjure, “And don’t think for a second I praise your little Order.”

_ “The good side”. Bullshit. Sure, no noseless lunatic that believes people should be murdered for something they have no control over, but they sure as hell did some not so very saint-like things to stay alive. It’s all fucking nonsense. _

To no prevail, the silence in the room is still deafening.  _ And extremely fucking awkward.  _ Moody, Hermione, and Dean are still looking at him like he has the plague. 

“Could you at least unbind my fucking hands? They’re about to fall off.” 

Moody draws his wand slowly and removes the ropes around his wrists without a word. 

_________________________________

_ Draco Malfoy and remorse do not go hand in hand _ . Hermione knew that for a fact. Which is why she knew his answer wasn’t as sincere as others make it out to be. She knew that the arrogant prat would only change if it was convenient for him, ergo why she was completely lost. 

She, for her life, could not figure out why he had put himself in this situation. The Order was nowhere near winning. Hell, they barely had enough resources to feed anyone. If Draco truly wanted to help, there would have been better ways to go about it. Either this was some form of defecting, or a last resort.

Hermione is lost in her thoughts as Draco barks orders at Moody to remove his bindings. She looks up to finding him flexing his hands open and closed as he tries to bring mobility back.

The silence was awkward, but thankfully Moody spoke before she would have to be the one to do it, “Listen boy, you are useless to me as of now. Either you give us more intel and fight for us, or we see if your precious Dark Lord will take you back.” Moody spoke looking directly into Draco’s eyes.

The blonde stared back as he replied with a scoff, “You’ve gone mental if you think I would ever affiliate myself with this pathetic association. I don’t want to be here, and I sure as hell don’t want to help.”

“Shut your mouth and listen,” Moody starts as he points at Draco’s chest, “you have no choice here. This isn’t a holiday for you,” he jabs his finger into Draco, “This is war. If you have no more intel, you have no more use.”

Hermione didn’t have to guess what that meant if Draco truly did not decide to help.

Draco replied shortly after, “Get your finger the fuck away from me.” He scoots back, “I have intel,” he says with a stern face and tight lips. 

“Would ya' look at that?” Moody asks as he lifts both arms in an exaggerated motion and turns to look at Hermione and Dean. “You've wasted my time here, I have somewhere to be.” He says as he adjusts his bag and heads for the door.

Before he makes it to the door, he directs his words at Draco, “I’m coming back in a few days, if you aren’t of use, you’re done.”

_ Whatever that meant. _

He apparates away, leaving the three teens alone in the thickest silence thus far. Having been looking down at her feet, Hermione decides to look up. Right ahead of her is Draco, sitting down on the bed, propped up by his elbows resting on his knees, his head turned as he looks outside the window. 

Hermione allows herself a moment to watch him. To watch the lines on his face crease in worry every second or so, or the eyes so bright and tense as they follow the swaying trees outside. The more she looks at him, the more human he gets. A prick,  _ always _ , but a human one. One who suffers and worries for whatever reasons he has. 

She feels a small tug on her upper forearm and turns her head to find Dean pulling her out of the room. He gestures his head forward as she lightly trips over herself to find the correct footing. Hermione takes one last look at Draco and is met with his eyes staring straight into hers. She could’ve sworn something slowed for a second. Regardless, she flicks her head straight back and rushes out of the room.

“Well, that could’ve been worse.” Dean says in an unenthusiastic voice.

“Much.”

____________________

During breakfast, the four Gryffindors sit at the table together for the first time in a long time. Dean decided to skip on giving Draco breakfast, he doesn’t eat it regardless. 

“The wrong side eh?” Ginny asks with a fork in hand.

Hermione nods her head slowly as she sets down the mug she has in her hand.

“Bollocks. That Veritaserum was faulty. Absolutely no bloody way Malfoy has now suddenly changed his mind.” Ginny finishes as she bites into a piece of stale toast.

“Ginny’s right,” adds Seamus as he points to her, “bet the bloke cocked-up You-Know-Who’s orders so he’s come here to hide” he finishes as he doubles his top half over the table in a laugh. The rest of the group follows.

A tap on the window pauses the laughter. They all turn to find one of the Order’s owls, Archimedes, waiting at the window ledge with two letters. 

Hermione, being the closest to the window, stands up and grabs the letter. She quickly runs to the other side of the kitchen to grab some crackers, and feeds it to the owl. After Archimedes has flown away, she retreats back to the table with letters in hand.

One is addressed to Ginny, Seamus, and Dean, while the other is only for Hermione. Her friends stare at her as she passes them their letter, holding the one only for her tightly in her hand. 

She opens it nervously. Inside she finds a few short sentences:

_ Granger, _

_ I’ve sent the others at Fordwich on a quick mission. Since someone needs to stay and watch Malfoy, and I figured you would sit this one out per usual. They should be back in a day or so. I need to talk to you about the boy. Remus has come to me with the idea of an Unbreakable Vow between you and Malfoy to ensure that he doesn’t try anything. We’ll touch on it later. _

_ \- Moody _

An Unbreakable Vow. A bond between two people so strong, that if betrayed, imminent death occurs. 

While this may seem a simple bargain, considering only the party who betrays the agreement is killed, it’s much more complicated. Not only would the two people making the Vow have to agree, they would have to depend on each other. They would have to rely on each other to do as agreed upon, and not raise the risks of breaking the bond.

_ Not a chance in hell.  _

Hermione drops the letter from her hand and it falls onto the table. Her three friends were already staring at her.

“Hermione, you alright?” Dean asks.

“An Unbreakable Vow.” She says as she stares down catatonically.

“What?” Ginny replies for him.

“They want someone to cast an Unbreakable Vow on me.”

“Who is ‘they’?” Seamus joins in with air quotes.

“Moody and Remus.”

“A Vow with who?”

“Malfoy.”

She flicks her already wet eyes up, knowing they're ready to start forming teardrops. She wills herself to hold it back.  _ Nothing is for certain.  _

“You’re joking,” Ginny says.

Hermione nods her head, indicating that they were in fact, not joking.

“They’ve gone absolutely mad.” The red head says. “It’s not happening.”

Hermione wishes she could believe her friend, but she knows she can’t. In war, sacrificing yourself is the bravest thing anyone can do, and she wouldn’t hesitate to do so if it meant others wouldn’t be in harm’s way. 

_ A Gryffindor indeed. _

___________________________

After a short conversation of condolences, and hearing too many “it will be alright, nothing will happen”, Hermione says her farewell to her friends. The three of them leave that night for their mission, with the plan to come back the following evening.

She trudges herself up the stairs, green apple in hand. As she makes it to Malfoy’s door, she makes a silent prayer- _ to who? She’s not exactly sure _ \- and hopes he’s already asleep. She steps in and finds Draco Malfoy standing next to his bed, shirtless.

Before she can even comprehend the sight in front of her, he starts speaking “Merlin Granger, how about some fucking privacy!” He says as he quickly throws on the shirt he had in his hand . 

Mustering up some tenacity, she says the first thing on her mind, “Sorry,” _ idiot,  _ “why weren’t you wearing a shirt?”. She does her best to not look him in the eyes.

“There’s something called a shower. Even ones with cold and dirty water.” He says in a matter-of-fact tone and slaps his hand to his sides. 

After a few seconds of silence from not knowing how to respond to that, Hermione hands him the apple. “Here” she says as she extends her arm towards him.

“Leave it on the dresser” he says whilst he turns his head to walk back to his bed.

“Excuse me?” Hermione asks, appalled.

“You heard me Granger,” he points in the direction of the dresser, “there”.

“Can’t bare to touch me can you,” she starts as she makes her way to the dresses, “to think you really had changed.” She plops the apple down on the face of the wood, denting the bottom of it on purpose.

He doesn’t reply for a few seconds, then asks a surprisingly honest question, “Why does it matter to you? Or to anyone in this house? If I’ve changed or not?”. He says it in an imperative tone and Hermione wasn’t sure if it was even a question, but she decided to answer anyways.

“It doesn’t. Not to Ginny, not to Dean, not to Seamus, and especially not to me,” she points into her own chest and continues. “But if I die because of some stupid Vow that you broke, my blood is on your hands” she finishes with her finger pointing towards him. 

“What did you just say?”

“You heard me, it doesn’t matter.”

“No, not that,” he turns around to face Hermione, still keeping his distance “a Vow?”

Hermione hesitates for a second, not knowing if she should tell him. It wasn’t for certain, but she brought it up anyway. “Yes.”

“As in Unbreakable Vow?”

“Yes.”

“With me?”

“Yes.”

“And who else?”

“Me.”

He stiffens his back and tenses his shoulders. His face is growing visibly redder by the second. He tightens his lips before he speaks, “Absolutely fucking not. That. Is. Not. Happening.”

“Malfoy, grow up. I don’t have a choice and I doubt you do either.”

“It’s fucking useless!” He starts raising his voice and his arms. “I already told you I chose the wrong side! I’m not putting my fucking life on the line, and espeically not with you!” He finishes yelling.

“If you meant what you said, you shouldn’t have to worry so much. It takes two people for an Unbreakable Vow.” She steps closer to him as she speaks, “and so help me if you do  _ anything  _ to make this harder, I will kill you myself Draco Malfoy” her finger was in his chest now, and she could feel his breath on her face. Blinded by her anger, she takes a moment to adjust to the sight in front of her. Draco’s eyes. 

He stares at her with an unmatched fury as he says his next words, “Get the fuck out”. He shoves her shoulders away, causing Hermione to trip and fall onto the ground. Her bottom landing onto the wood makes for a loud creaking sound. 

Before both of them even realize, Hermione is back on both of her feet, drawing her right arm back in front of Draco. Her hand curled into a fist, she strikes her arm forward, and aims onto his cheek with all the strength she has. 

His face gets unwillingly tossed to the side, and he brings one of his hands up to cradle the cheek that had a bleeding cut. He turns back to look at her and fight back, but Hermione’s wand was already at the base of his chin before he could step forward.

Jutting her wand into him, Hermione speaks in a low, threatening tone, “Never try that again”. She removes the wand and heads towards the door. Before she completely exits, she turns around, “Moody comes tomorrow.” 

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you like! Next chapter Nov. 30th.


	7. Til' Death Do Us Part

“Hermione!” 

“Hermione!”

“HERMIONE!”

Ginny Weasley, notorious for waking Hermione up, strikes again. Hermione, panicking, jumps up from the floor outside of Malfoy’s door, and sprints down the stairs. 

She sees Seamus slouching an arm over Dean, while his other arm is in Ginny’s hands, dripping blood. Before Hermione could say hello to any of them, she rushes over to his injury to inspect it herself. 

“Seamus, come sit down at the table,” she starts bringing him to the table with her, “Ginny go upstairs and grab me some Dittany” she demands her friend.

She takes a few moments to look at the medium-sized cut that was on her friend's arm.

Thankfully, Seamus’s wound was minor, and no Dark or Unknown magic was spreading from it. Hermione quickly uses her wand to get rid of the blood on his arm, and clean the wound. Ginny returns with a bottle of herbs, and Hermione gets to work. She rubs it on his injury while Seamus sucks air through his teeth, undoubtedly in pain. She watches as the wound grows new skin and starts to heal itself.

“It’s not a major wound, it should heal in a few days and leave a tiny scar. Don’t put too much pressure on it though” Hermione instructs Seamus.

“Thanks Hermione” the boy replies as he stands up and heads upstairs.

Ginny and Dean break off from their own conversation to greet Hermione. After giving them both hugs, Hermione goes to sit in front of the fireplace. Ginny and Dean follow suit.

“So, I see you survived a day without us” Ginny says jokingly.

“Barely” Hermione says, not jokingly.

“Er.. what happened?” Dean asks in a wary tone.

“I accidentally told Malfoy... about the Vow.” She looks up at her friends. “He shoved me to the floor, and then... I... punched him.” She finishes as she plays with her fingers through her jumper.

Ginny starts laughing. So does Dean. 

“You punched him?” Ginny asks as she laughs.

Hermione nods, feeling embarrassed.

“Bloody hell Hermione, you’ve done it again! Bet this one hurt more than third year too.”

Dean starts laughing- and so does Hermione.

“It probably did, yeah.” She says as she laughs.

The laughter dies down quickly and Dean starts, “What did he say though, about the vow?”

“The same thing I did. Absolutely abhors it, who wouldn’t,” she shrugs her shoulder, “Not my call to make unfortunately.”

The three friends talked and laughed until Seamus yelled at them from upstairs to be quiet. They went up consecutively and into their respective rooms. Except Hermione-  _ night watch, although it was useless _ .

She opens the door with no hesitation and walks straight to the dresser. She slams the apple on it and heads right back to the door, continuing to ignore Draco. She steps out, turns around to close the door, and makes eye contact with him. She slams the door closed.

Hermione sits onto the floor, back leaning on the wall, and attempts to sleep for a few hours.  _ She couldn't, she never could. _

_ Pop! _

“Granger, get up. This is the only time I can do this. We have things to discuss.”

_ Moody. _

__________________________

_ Middle of the fucking night. Is it possible to ever?? Get some sleep? Kill. Me. Now _

Draco sits up and turns his head.

_ Moody and Granger. Please, kill me now. _

“Up,” Moody says.

Draco stands up, too tired and groggy to protest. He forgets that he isn’t wearing a shirt, and is kindly reminded by Hermione’s frozen and blushing face. He throws on a shirt _immediately_.

“Granger told me she told you. I couldn’t give one bloody care for if you want to do the Vow or not. It’s happening now.”

“Of course it is.” Is all he says as Moody pulls out his wand.

Granger starts speaking and Draco’s ears start ringing “Moody and I have already discussed the terms of the Vow. Say yes to all of them, or this whole thing is off.”

_ She looks like she wants to kill me. Good. _

Draco doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t agree with her, but he knows he can’t disagree.

All he does is stick out his arm in compliance. The one with the Dark Mark,  _ for effect _ .

Hermione grabs his arm with hesitation and loosely grips his forearm with her hands. Draco notices she has small hands. The sudden warmth and foreignness of another human touch startles Draco. He can’t remember the last time anyone hugged him, or if anyone ever has. He secretly hopes for this Vow to take long, just to revel in the closeness with another person, to be able to pretend that someone is holding him with welcoming arms, not against their will.

She starts speaking, “Will you, Draco Malfoy, aid and fight with the Order when asked?”

A few seconds go by. Hermione leans her head down and darkens her eyes as she looks at him.

With tightened lips, he answers, “Yes.”

“And do you promise not to harm, or kill, any members of the Order you know to be an ally?”

“Yes.”

“And, if deemed necessary, do you vow to take any lengths possible to assist myself, and the others, at Fordwich, and on missions.”

Draco scoffs.

“Do you?”

He rolls his eyes and flares his nostrils. “Yes.”

As she asks the questions, Draco stares at Hermione. Her eyes, her face, her hair. There’s something familiar about her face, he realizes. Not because they’ve known each other since their school years, but because she has one of those faces that make you feel welcome. _He figured_ _ it must be the starvation talking. _

Nonetheless, Draco could not stand Hermione Granger.

He could stand her face. 

_ That’s it. _

  
  


__________________________

A thin, red, flame emerged from the tip of Moody’s wand, and wound itself around both of their arms, twisting as it grew. Hermione could feel the heat radiating from the wire of the flames. She could also feel the heat from Draco’s arm, which was much too pale, and much too muscular.

Hermione finishes asking the questions, and Moody withdraws his wand from the joint arms. The thin, flaming wire vanishes, and the two let go of each other immediately.

“Can I go back to sleep now?” Draco asks as he squints his eyes and makes a mocking face.

No one answers him, and Moody grabs Hermione by the arm and pulls her out of the room while Draco walks back to his bed. 

When the two are outside of the room, Moody starts to speak, “Granger, I can’t risk you dying, and I’d rather the boy not die either. I’ve heard he’s a bright wizard and even better in combat. I expect you to train him, or with him-“ he stutters, ”Something that will ensure that you two don’t kill each other.” He says as he plays with the strap on his satchel. 

“Train with him?” Hermione draws her eyebrows together. “You must be joking.” Her voice cracks.

“I certainly am not,” he moves his hand as he speaks, “you need to learn how to work together if you’re to be with him on missions.” He finishes

As annoying as it might be, Hermione knew it was too late to back out now. She knew she would have to put herself through the torture that is Malfoy, and that she wouldn’t have a choice.

She crosses her arms and replies. “Fine.”

“Brilliant. I’m off now. Expect me in the next few weeks to return his wand.”

_ Pop _ !

Moody’s gone, and Hermione is exhausted.

She stays standing in the hallway for the next few minutes, attempting to compose her thoughts. 

_ An Unbreakable Vow, an arrogant prick, and a war to top it all off.  _

Things were going great for Hermione Granger.

_________________________________

After tossing and turning for five hours instead of sleeping, Hermione decides to get a start of the long day ahead of her. Her mental checklist being crafted as she dresses herself, she puts on a long sleeve knit sweater, courtesy of Molly Weasley, and a pair of jeans. 

She checks the mirrors before she exits the door. Hermione hasn’t checked herself in the mirror for over five months, _ why start now? _

She shakes her head as she pats down her jeans, and exits her room. She runs downstairs to the kitchen, and finds it empty. She supposed that her friends were either still sleeping their mission off, or they were outside training. She went to the window to check the latter option, and was not successful. Since she was alone in the kitchen, she quickly ate a stale slice of bread, and chugged a cup of water down. She grabbed one of the last apples - _ a green one _ \- and headed upstairs.

She mentally prepares herself.

Hermione gives one quick knock on the door, waits a few seconds, and then opens the door. She leans on the door frame with her arms crossed and an apple in hand, as she stares at Draco Malfoy sleeping.

His back was to her,shirtless again, and the sheets went down to cover just above his lower tailbone. His back muscles were lean and defined, and she thought she could make out a tattoo just below his left shoulder blade.

“Malfoy, wake up.”

He doesn't move.

“I know you’re awake, get up.”

“No.”

Hermione rolls her eyes as she keeps her nonchalant pose, “Wake up.” She throws the apple she’s holding at him. It’s aimed perfectly at his head, and it bounces off onto the floor after striking him.

He is now awake and sitting up facing Hermione.

“What the fuck Granger? Is it necessary for you to interrupt my sleep every single fucking day?” He says as he drags out his sentence towards the end to exaggerate it.

“Yes. Put a shirt on, we have to train.”

“Train?”

“Yes, train.”

He snorts through his nose, “Granger, I could outduel you with my eyes closed, I don’t need to train with you.”

“Good thing this isn’t a duel, it’s a fight.” Hermione says as she smirks and pulls something out of her pocket. “You don’t have a wand, I’ll make this fair for you.”

“A knife fight? Are you absolutely mental Granger?”

She pushes herself off the door frame and starts walking over to him, “These are charmed,” she grabs one of the small blades and runs it along her palm slowly, “See? They don’t cut or impale through skin. They can leave bruises though.” She takes another small blade out of her pocket and hands it to Draco. He accepts it in the palm of his hand.

“I sure as hell am getting my wand back before I go on missions, is that clear?” Draco commands.

“Obviously, but for now, we need to see how the other fights.”

“This is insane, why would I ever need to fight you on a mission?” he says as he raises both of his arms in question.

“Merlin, Draco! That is not the point! Shut up and fight me!”

Draco stiffens immediately and twists the blade around his fingers twice. Hermione backs a few steps away and starts circling him. He follows suit.

They walk in circles for a minute or so, staring at each other, until Draco breaks the silence, “Granger, I’m not taking you down first, hit me.”

“You wouldn’t have done that regardless Malfoy,” she squints her eyes and smirks, “but if you insist.” 

Hermione runs forward as she pulls her arm back. She curls her fist into a ball, and strikes Draco in the stomach. He doubles over as she takes the blade in her other arm and pokes it into his side.

Hermione starts to smile in victory and opens her mouth to speak. Before she has the chance to do so, Draco wraps his arm around her back and uses one of his legs to slide under and kick both of hers off the ground. Hermione falls flat onto her back, allowing him room to weave one leg on each side of her, straddling her. He leans forward and holds the charmed blade up to her throat. Hermione uses both of her hands to try to grab his arm with the blade. He manages to restrain one of them to her side. She grips his forearm with her only hand, and drops her head onto the floor for a second.

She can feel his breath on her face, and see the pent up anger in his eyes. They share a few short seconds staring at each other and catching their breaths before the silence is broken.

She speaks first, “What are you going to do now? Slice my throat?” 

He smirks, “Precisely, Granger.”

Hermione wraps her hand around Draco’s, and maneuvers his hand so that the tip of the blade is pointing straight down onto her esophagus, and his hand is hovering above her throat.

He furrows his eyebrows and tilts his head before she speaks, “You don’t slice Malfoy,” she pushes his hand down further, and the tip of the blade starts to indent her skin, “you break. Almost instant,” she pushes his hand down even further and smirks, “No noise, no mess.”

Before he can reply, she sits up and pushes Draco off of her. He finds his balance and sits up on the floor with his palms supporting his weight.

“Not bad” Hermione says.

“Not bad? I would’ve killed you Granger.”

“Yeah, surprised you even touched me.” Hermione says as she takes the blade back from him and puts it in her pocket.

Draco exhales and slightly drops his head. “Oh fuck off. You know that blood purity nonsense is all bullshit.” He says, looking genuinely offended.

Shocked, not knowing that Draco had suddenly changed his beliefs, Hermione stands up quickly and starts heading to the door. She makes it to the doorframe and turns around to say her last words, “Not what you've been saying for the past six years Malfoy.” she says to the blonde who’s still sitting on the floor. He looks at her, and she exits the room.

_ Now, to do it all again tomorrow. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I lied, chapter today:) Not sure when 9 will be, but hopefully in the next couple of days. I'll be super busy, so I'm not setting a date for it. Would love to hear feedback! Hope you enjoy so far<3


	8. Vamped In All The Wrong Places

“No. You’re doing it wrong.”

“I am not doing anything wrong! You are insufferable!” Hermione says as she purses both arms to her sides and stomps away from Draco. 

“One arm goes down, forward, and then up,” he says as he follows the motions, demonstrating. “And then, the other hand like this,” he shows her the flat palm he is making, “and you use it like so-” he jabs his palm forward enough to almost hit Hermione’s face, “to break the nose.”

“That is exactly what I was doing!”

“Believe it or not, it wasn’t.”

She stares at him in anger for a moment. “I’ll be back, I need to use the loo.” She says in a scowl and exits the room.

Hermione and Draco had only been training for a couple of days, but she had already come to a consensus.

_ Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy do not work well together.  _

_ He’s frustrating and smart, and she hates to admit it- but better than her at hand-to-hand combat.  _

The first day was short, and Hermione believed she had power over him with her quick thinking and wit. For the strenuous amounts of knowledge Hermione had, she lacked in strength. Draco knew he would be stronger and faster than her, and his ego did not bode well on Hermione.

The second day was worse.

________________________________

_ “Granger, can you get one thing right?”  _ He says as he watches Hermione on the floor from across the room.

_ “Maybe if you didn’t throw me into a wall every two seconds! We’re supposed to be working together!”  _ She yells back at him.

_ “It’s not working together if you don’t know how to fight. At all.” _

_ “I despise you.”  _ She starts picking herself up off the ground.

_ “Join the club, Granger.” _

_ “Wipe that ugly smirk off your face, you prat.”  _ She pulls out her wand and does what she’s best at.

_ “Don’t you fucking dare. I don’t have a wand!”  _ He points at her.

_ “Too late.”  _ She says as she walks out of the room while Draco jumps and swats his arm, in pain from his stinging skin.

__________________________________

  
  


The third day was better. They decided it would work best if Draco taught Hermione, rather than failing at “cooperatively fighting”.  _ Or so she called it. _

___________________________________

_ “You are quite possibly, the weakest individual I have encountered thus far.”  _ He raises his arm towards her _. _

_ “Thank you! Have any more critiques Malfoy?”  _ She asks mockingly as she shrugs and slaps her hands to her side.

He points to her head. _ “You could fix the hair.” _

She turns around and walks _. “I’m leaving. We’re done for today.”  _ She starts to open the door.

Draco knew that the girl was too stubborn to ask. He put his pride to the side _ , “I’m teaching you. No chance in hell I’m dying because of your lack of combat skills.”  _

She paused before she made it out the door.

_ “I don’t need your help.”  _ Hermione knew she did.

That day, Draco ended up teaching her how to properly break someone’s kneecaps using her elbows _. _

___________________________________

“I’m back.” Hermione says as she opens the door and steps in.

“No shite.”

She rolls her eyes and turns to face him. They stand a few feet away from each other in silence.

“You’re too weak, you need muscle. Unless you’re choosing to die a painful, untimely death.” He crosses his arm.

“I’d rather do that than be here.” She lifts her eyebrows and fakes a smile.

He scoffs and starts speaking. “You should run. Or at least do some form of cardio. And strength as well.”

She waits a moment before she speaks. “Any more suggestions?” She mocks.

“I’m being serious.”

“I figured.” She takes a breath, pats down her clothes, and walks to the door. She stops and turns. “Well, are you coming?”. She wasn’t sure why she asked. Maybe she needed the training, or maybe she longed the company.

His face contorts into a mix between discomfort and confusion. “Uh.. no.” He says as he slowly turns around to walk to his bed.

“Okay.” She says, turning red from embarrassment. She walks out and heads downstairs. 

________________________________

  
  
  


Hermione had finished working out that afternoon. She ran as far as her feet could take her, which happened to be a small lake just outside of their cabin. She estimated she ran four miles total. As tired as she was, she liked the feeling of the adrenaline pumping through her, and knowing she was in control. 

She untied the hairband she had knotted into her curls as she stepps into the kitchen.

“Hermione, I’m going back to the Burrow tomorrow morning.” Ginny says from her spot at the kitchen table.

She wonders why Ginny said it in an implicative tone.

“Bollocks!” She throws her head back in frustration. “I’ll brew it by tonight, I promise. I’ll just need to stop by the Forbidden Forest.”

“You’re mental. None of us will be here to go with you. I’m stopping by to see Katie Bell tonight since she got injured, and Dean is coming with me.” Dean blushed and smiled. “It’s really no worry, Arthur doesn’t care much about scars.” The red head waves her hand dismissively.

“No, I want to do this, I need to.” She turns to face her Irish friend. “What about you, Seamus?”

“Moody asked me to apparate to Grimmauld Place in the evening. Told me to bring some more food for the house. Merlin knows we need it.”

“Oh, I see.” Hermione said as she lowered her head and turned around to face her back to her friends.

“You aren’t going by yourself.” Ginny said roughly.

She didn’t want to say this, but the craving for knowledge triumphed over any indifferences she and him had. “I’ll go with Malfoy.”

“Malfoy?!” Dean, Seamus, and Ginny say at the same time, all looking equally confused.

“Yes, unfortunately.” She started as she poured herself cold tea. “As you all know, I’ve trained with him for a few days. I hate to feed the prick’s ego, but he’s spectacular at fighting.”

“He doesn’t have a wand Hermione!” Dean furrows his eyebrows and raises his voice.

“I know that. I am more than capable enough to handle the spellwork for the both of us.” She sets her mug down forcefully. “Given we will even need to protect ourselves. The whole ordeal should take, at maximum, twenty minutes.”

Her friends stayed silent for a moment, all giving her a questionable look.

“Are you telling me you trust Draco Malfoy with your life?” Dean asked while leaning his head slightly forward and squinting his eyes.

As appalled as she was at the assumption, she answered with tranquility, knowing it would wound her friends up even more to start arguing. “It’s not my life Dean, for Merlin’s sake! And the answer to your question, absolutely not. He’s my only option, and there’s no chance of him hurting me, or running away. His life is on the line because of that vow. If he does end up breaking the Vow, I won’t necessarily complain.” She throws her hands up in surrender as Ginny scoffs with her mouth open.

“Alright, do be careful though Hermione. We will all die without you. Including Malfoy.” Ginny says jokingly.

“Ginerva Weasley you are incredibly overdramatic!” Hermione says as she laughs and imitates Molly Weasley.

_______________________________

  
  


She barges into his room. 

“It’s your lucky day Malfo- Could you please put on a shirt for once in your Godric forsaken life!” She throws up both hands at the same time she turns around.

She hears shuffling as she assumes he dresses himself. She waits a few seconds before turning back around. Assuming incorrectly, Malfoy was not finished getting dressed. His trousers were on and his shirt was halfway down his lifted arms. His back was to Hermione, which allowed her to see the lean muscles coating his shoulders, and torso. The marking she assumed to be a tattoo was more red now that she was in better light.

“What’s that?” She says before she widens her eyes, as she forgets she wasn’t supposed to be staring at him.

He turns around while putting on his shirt, allowing Hermione to see a torso of lean muscles, connecting to a V-line that could cu-

“Amused, Granger?”

She looks back up at his face. “No.” She says, flustered.

“Of course you are.” He pulls down his shirt completely. “What’s what?”

“The tattoo, on your back.” She points a finger at him.

His smirk drops and his eyebrows crease together. “Not a tattoo.”

“Oka-”

“What were you saying? Before you practically burst my eardrums off for the simple cause of me not wearing a shirt.”

She knew he was deflecting. They didn’t like each other, and they definitely weren’t friends. Hermione decided not to push.

“It’s your lucky day. We’re going to the forbidden forest.”

He tilts his head to the side slightly to question, but she beat him to it

“Arthur- Ginny’s dad,” she explains to him, “has an injury wrought with an infused goblin blade. I need yew shavings to brew a potion that will counter the magic that left a scar.”

“Is it Dark Magic?”

“Yes, obviously.”

“So it must be a hybrid potion. Goblins don’t bother simplifying their torture methods.” He turns to find his shoes. “You’ll need lavender and valerian root as well if you’re planning to ever rid him of that scar.”

Hermione forgot she was speaking with someone  _ almost _ intellectually equivalent to her. She was certain she didn’t need the ingredients he listed. “Malfoy, my research s-”

“Granger, potions was the one class where I made top marks, remember? Not you.” He said in that smart-ass tone Hermione couldn’t stand.

The only topic Hermione would not fight Draco Malfoy on, was Potions. She could learn a thing or two from him. She’d never tell him that, though. She ignored his question. “I understand lavender for its calming properties, but why valerian root? It alone adds an hour to the brewing process. And it’s impossible to find in the forbidden forest.”

“If the right incantation is used, its sedative properties target specific nerve endings infused with Dark Magic, and decimate them.”

Hermione rolls her eyes, she knew he was right. “It’s still impossible to find.”

Draco scoffs, “No it isn’t. Actually, its preferred fertilizer is that of yew roots. It should be near the yew regardless.”

“Of course it is.” She says in defeat. Desperate to change the subject, she brings up the means of transportation. “I’ll apparate us. Stay close to me, you don’t have your wand.”

She pulls her wand out of her pocket.

“I’m flattered,” he mocks a swooning motion and continues, “Granger trying to keep me safe.”

“I’m leaving now.”

“Okay, Merlin! I’m going.”

“Grab my hand.”

“No.”

“How do you expect to apparate Malfoy?!”

“Right.”

He grabs Hermione’s hand, his large one doubling hers over, and they aparrate.

Both landing on their feet at the same time with little balance, Hermione loses her footing and stumbles right into Draco. He grabs her by both shoulders to straighten her, and lets go immediately. She turns around awkwardly.

“Okay, the yew tree is large and pale, just like you Malfoy, should be pretty easy to find.” She jokes as she starts walking.

“I know something else that has those certain characteristics too.” 

She stops walking and turns around. “That is disgusting Malfoy! You’re such a child!” She continues forward with heavy footing.

“You said it, not me.” He whispers to himself.

______________________________

Ten minutes later, Hermione was successful in her hunt for yew and valerian.

“Did I not say they’d be next to the yew?” Draco asks with a smug smile.

She ignores his question. “Help me shave some of the bark off.” She bends down, and he follows. She hands him a small, compact butterfly knife to work with.

They get to work after Hermione pulls a few vials out of her charmed bag, a charm which thoroughly confuses Draco. 

A ruffle in the tree behind them makes them snap their heads back at the same time.

“What was that?” Draco asks.

“Not sure, we’re almost done here,” she turns back to the valerian, “let’s finish this and I can apparate us back.”

Draco turns back as well, but warily. He checks the corner of his eye every few seconds.

A twig snapping causes Draco to shoot up from his kneeling position and reach for his nonexistent wand. “Fuck!” He says as Hermione looks at him with a smirk. “Don’t look at me like that.”

Some more motion in the tree above causes them to look up. 

A pale figure flies down in front of Hermione, and launches itself at her within seconds.

“Granger- fuck!” Draco says as he runs a few steps to her.

“Agh!” Hermione yelps as her back is clawed relentlessly by the vampire attacking her. She grabs her wand after struggling for a few seconds. She uses her knee to kick the vampire in front of her, and send it stumbling back a few paces. She casts a quick Flipendo, causing it to repel away from her.

From there, Draco runs over to it, uses his elbow to break it’s kneecap, and makes it fall on its back. He takes the small blade he had from shaving the yew bark, and presses it horizontally flat against the vampire’s throat. Y _ ou don’t slice Malfoy, you break.  _ He quickly switches his hand position, and impales the vampires' esophagus with as much force as he possibly can. He hears a snap, and it’s head goes limp, falling back with a thud. 

He turns his head to see Hermione on the floor, bloodied back facing up, her shirt clawed through and stained red. His heartbeat quickens to an impossible speed as he runs towards her. He kneels with both knees next to her, “Fuck, Granger!”

Her face doesn’t move, and neither does her body. He starts to get worried. He stands up and sprints to a Dittany bush he saw earlier.

Seconds later, Draco returns with a handful of dittany. He keeps an eye on Hermione’s breathing, watching her back pulse up and down slowly. He uses the blade from earlier to mince the Dittany, doing his best to replicate a healing rub without the use of a wand. 

Once he has a sufficient enough paste, he rubs it in between his fingers, and slowly moves to rub it on her cuts. Still unconscious, Hermione’s breathing quickens the second Draco makes contact with her skin.  _ It must sting _ . He rips the back portion of her shirt, allowing him to fully see what the vampire had done. It looked similar to his Sectumsempra scar.

After carefully applying an even layer of dittany, Draco waited until he could see the skin regrowing on Hermione’s back. Once the gashes had minimalized to slices, Draco attempted to bring Hermione back into consciousness. “Granger,” he taps her shoulder, “Granger, wake up!” he shakes both of her shoulders now. He tries it a few more times, unsuccessfully so.

Draco leans in, bringing his mouth to her ear, “Hermione, wake up!” Her birth name sounded…  _ foreign _ coming out of his mouth. He didn’t hate it.

Her eyes shoot open. She uses her palms as propellers, and pushes herself up. “AGH!” She falls back stomach first onto the ground immediately. 

“Granger! Don’t fucking move. You look like you just got mauled by a werewolf.”

“What happened..?” She tilts her head up to see the dead vampire a few feet away from her, “How did you..?”

He flips the knife so the blade is facing upwards into his hand.

“We need to.. Apparate home.” She says, slowly wincing after every word. 

“Not like that you aren’t. Your back will tear itself apart again.”

“Again?” She does her best to look at her shoulder blades from her position, and then sees the crushed up dittany on the ground. Her face flushes now that she realizes her shirt is currently backless.  _ And that she forgot to wear a bra today.  _ “Thanks.”

“Don’t thank me. Without you, I’m dead Granger.”

She knew he didn’t mean literally, but the words made something jump inside of her. 

“I can apparate,” Draco opened his mouth after hearing her say that but was cut off, “I’ll have to hold on to you.”

Draco stood up and inhaled. “Okay.”

Hermione used her palms to lift herself, grunting in pain as she ascended. As soon as she was stable enough on her feet, she used her hand to cover her frontside. 

Draco noticed she was less than decently clothed, and being the pureblood gentleman he is, he took his shirt off-

“What are you doing?”

And handed it to her. “Just take it Granger.”

She took it quickly without looking at any part of his bare skin, surprisingly. Draco turned around and waited for her to finish. Once he turned back, Hermione was holding a grey jumper in her hands.

Her shirt was now fixed, and blood free. “Thanks, but some of us have magic.” She said lightly, trying her best to stand up straight. 

“Right.” He put the jumper on before he could admit he was freezing. “Grab my hand.”

Hermione apparated them after slowly drawing her wand.

“Ow!” is all Draco could hear before being violently toppled onto the ground. He closes his eyes preparing for the fall, and opens them to find Hermione’s face an inch from his. She’s completely on top of him, holding onto the forearm draped in front of him from the fall. Both of her legs are in the open space between his legs. 

They share eye contact for a moment. He notices she looks dazed, eyes glossed over and lips slightly parted. He can feel one of her soft curls tickling the apex of his cheek.

She looks down at his lips, and Draco’s pulse quickens. 

He doesn’t really remember who leaned in first.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Procrastinated on all my work to write this oops.. but longest chapter yet!! Again, not setting a date for the next one, but definitely within the next two to three days.


End file.
